The Missing Twin • Beautiful Lies

August 15, 2012

Beautiful Lies book cover
Beautiful Lies by Jessica Warman
Publisher: Walker & Company
Publication Date: August 21, 2012
Source: BEA 2012 || ARC


The feeling that I got while reading BEAUTIFUL LIES was similar to how The Lovely Bones and The Butterfly Clues made me feel - a combination of fascinated and horrified, afraid of what would be revealed but unable to stop my curiosity. This combination of emotions definitely heightened my experience of the book, and I truly think that JESSICA WARMAN has created a book that I just could not set down.

Twins Rachel and Alice are the main characters of BEAUTIFUL LIES and while they're completely identical in appearance, their personalities are as different as night and day. Rachel's the good one, responsible, studious, behaved, while Alice is the epitome of a teen acting out, with the drinks and the drugs and the running away. In spite of that, the twins are extremely close and sensitive to each other's presence - so when one twin goes missing, the other knows straightaway that something's off.

I've always been fascinated by twins and a big believer in the connection that exists between them. This book explored that kind of connection, the special "twin-tuition", and that was part of the reason I was so fascinated by it. I was amazed to see how strong the connection between Alice and Rachel was; it blew my mind how incredibly physical it could get at times. It was mind-boggling, and I'm still not sure I completely believe it, but it was definitely an appealing aspect of the story.

The mystery that lingers - where has she gone? - left a sour taste in my mouth, but not in an off-putting way. Stories of when girls go missing scare me a little sometimes, and this was no exception. As I read, I was shaken and worried and panicking; but there was also a part of me so removed from the situation that I was actually shaking my head and thinking, "This is crazy!" 

And true enough, the way it plays out and the things that occur on the way there were just extremely nuts. I went up and down so many times while reading this book, and though it was mentally exhausting, I found I couldn't stop. I was too curious about how things were going to end for the twins! And even the ending left me feeling shaken and unsettled.

With a mystery this irresistible, it is impossible to not want to stick around until the end of BEAUTIFUL LIES. Though I certainly felt confused and shaken by parts of the book, I feel that it was part of the author's intention in making the plot and the conclusion as mysterious as possible (though I will say I had an idea about a certain character that later proved to be true!). BEAUTIFUL LIES is a book that you won't want to put down until you find out what happens to Alice and Rachel -and that is the true beauty of this book that JESSICA WARMAN has written.


  1. I love the way you reviewed this book... I only liked this book, my review comes out on the 22nd.

  2. Great review, being a twin I don't really like to read "twin" books, but I may check this one out.

    I mean, Jess and I are fraternal and I don't think we have any kind of "connection", even though you have those moments where you say the same thing at the same time.

    I always think there is something special about identical twins, especially identical mirror twins, I just can't imagine having the EXACT same makeup as someone else. And like if one has a mole on the right, the other has one on the left in the exact same place.

  3. Sounds like something I'd better put on my TBR list.

  4. Okay, okay, I will give this another shot. If you tell me to stick with it, I will. :)

  5. Oh, great review! I've only read one other Jessica Warman book, but I thought it was good. This one sounds awesome!

  6. This book was WOW. Just, WOW. I loved it.

    Okay, so I have twin girls. They're 9. They are mono-mono twins like Jessica Warman wrote about. They're also mirror-image twins like the commenter Kat C is talking about up above. (Their twin connection is CRAZY. Although they both don't bleed when one gets a skinned knee, haha.)

    Because I have my girls and they are just like Alice and Rachel, I was ENAMORED with these characters' behavior.

    Seriously, this book was crazy. I couldn't put it down, couldn't stop biting my nails, etc. It was such a thrill ride!

  7. I've really been enjoying thrillers and mysteries lately so you had me attention as soon as you mentioned how you couldn't stop reading plus the addition of twins makes it more intriguing! This sounds like a really good, heart-stopping read, Alexa!

  8. Oh yay! I haven't read a good mystery/thriller in SUCH a long time, and this sounds so fascinating and horrifying at the same time. Thank you!



Latest Instagrams

© Alexa Loves Books. Design by FCD.